Free agent designated hitter (well, I guess he could play outfield, too, but that's probably a stretch) Johnny Damon is still looking for work. And the Orioles have not ruled out signing the 38-year-old, CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman has learned. Of course, Heyman also reports nothing is imminent.

It's a bit surprising Damon hasn't been signed by now. He hit .261/.326/.418 with 16 homers, 29 doubles and seven triples last season. Of course, previous Heyman reports have indicated Damon's asking price has been too high. If he's desperate enough to accept a meager fee like, say, $3 million just to hit for a full season, there might be more suitors.

The lingering storyline with Damon is his pursuit of 3,000 hits. He currently has gathered 2,723 in his career. For the past three seasons, he's averaged 151 hits, so he needs two more full seasons and then he probably gets there. It can't be a secret what that number might mean. The only players to ever have 3,000 hits are either: 1. In the Hall of Fame; 2. headed there (Craig Biggio, Derek Jeter); 3. Being held out (Pete Rose due to his ban and Rafael Palmeiro due to his failed drug test). So if Damon reached 3,000, it's reasonable to believe he'd have a shot at enshrinement. If not, he's not getting in.

And now we present to you, today's version of "no good deed goes unpunished."

Remember Christian Lopez? He was the fan who caught Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit, which was also a home run. He gave the ball back to Jeter without any monetary demands -- and he could have easily made a windfall had he put the ball up for sale. For example, Barry Bonds' 715th home run ball went for over $200,000. But when Yankees president Randy Levine asked what Lopez wanted for the Jeter ball, Lopez replied: "How about a couple signed balls, some jerseys and bats." (New York Times)

That's it. Obviously, Jeter and the Yankees granted Lopez's request. Lopez even told reporters he owed more than $100,000 in student loans, but felt the ball belonged to Jeter. Of course, Lopez is now likely going to have to pay some pretty hefty taxes on the gifts the Yankees have given him.

The Yankees gave Mr. Lopez four Champions Suite tickets for their remaining home games and any postseason games, along with three bats, three balls and two jerseys, all signed by Jeter. For Sunday’s game the team gave him four front-row Legends seats, which sell for up to $1,358.90 each.

With so many home games remaining at those lofty prices, it is estimated that the value of Lopez's coup could be over $50,000, which means he'd owe $14,000 in taxes. If it is determined the Yankees gave these items as an act of generosity -- instead of an exchange of goods -- Lopez wouldn't owe a dime. So it's up to the IRS.

Who would have thought, when Lopez caught the ball and did the kind thing, he may have incurred a $14,000 tax liability.

Derek Jeter was the first player to record his 3,000th hit in a Yankee uniform, but he may have company soon.

Of the active players close to 3,000, his teammate Alex Rodriguez may be the next to reach the mark. Rodriguez has 2,762 career hits, trailing only Jeter (3,002), Ivan Rodriguez (2,842) of the Nationals and Omar Vizquel (2,831) of the White Sox among active players on the all-time hit list.

Alex Rodriguez seems to be the best bet to get to 3,000 first, even though he's currently injured. The other two players are older (A-Rod is 35, while Ivan Rodriguez is 39 and Vizquel is 44) and no longer every day players.

As Derek Jeter moved toward 3,000 hits, there were estimates that in the case of a home run for his milestone hit, the ball could be worth as much as $250,000.

Christian Lopez, 23, won't be getting cash when he turned in the ball without asking for anything in return. However, he's not going home empty handed. Lopez will get four suite tickets for every game for the rest of the season, signed bats and balls and front-row seats for tomorrow's game, YES Network reported on their telecast of the game.

While Jeter's never been considered a slugger, the home run was the 237th home run of his career. Boggs' 3,000th hit was his 118th and final home run of his career. Boggs told the St. Petersburg Times that he wasn't surprised that Jeter hit a homer for his 3,000th hit.

Boggs added he didn't expect a routine grounder up the middle: "That's not New York style. You've got to do it with flare."

Boggs was Jeter's teammate with the Yankees in 1995 when Jeter recorded his first hit and played with him until 1997. With four hits on Saturday, Jeter stands at 3,002 for his career, eight behind Boggs' mark of 3,010.

It's no surprise that 17 of the 28 members of the 3,000 hit club did it on a single, but Paul Molitor's triple is now even more rare than homers for Jeter and Boggs to reach the milestone. Molitor is the only player in history to triple for his 3,000th hit.

It should be noted that nobody is quite sure when Cap Anson got his 3,000th hit because in the 1887 season, walks counted as hits. He also played five seasons in the National Association which is sometimes counted as a "major league," but sometimes it's not. According to MLB.com, Anson has 3,418 hits, while Baseball-Reference.com gives him 3,435 -- both count his time in the National Association and don't count his 1887 walks. The two differ on his total in 1889. Meanwhile, the Hall of Fame doesn't count his time in the National Association, but does count his walks in 1887 for a total of 3,081.

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter returned home for a four-game series before the All-Star break, and he only needed three hits to become the 28th player in major-league history with 3,000 hits in his career. Of course, in his first at-bat Thursday, he knocked a double to left-center and is almost there. He concluded the night 1-for-5 as the Yankees lost 5-1.

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter resumed his chase for 3,000 hits Wednesday night in Cleveland. Justin Masterson took the hill for the Indians and was dominant through 7 1/3 innings, allowing only two hits. But Jeter got to him with a double over the right fielder's head in the eighth for his 2,997th career hit.

Leading off the game, Jeter hit a slow chopper to third that Orlando Cabrera couldn't field cleanly with his barehand, and the ball was (rightfully) ruled a base hit. In the second, he hit a double in the gap to score two and give New York a 3-0 lead.

On June 13 at Yankee Stadium, Jeter led off the game with a single and then left the game after flying out in the fifth inning. Jeter's three plate appearances in that game (going 1 for 3) are the only three in his career against the 24-year-old Indians right-hander.

In that last game, Carrasco loaded the bases in the first, only to get out of the inning and went on to hold the Yankees scoreless and allow just four more hits in seven innings for the Yankees' first 1-0 loss at new Yankee Stadium.

We'll be updating this post after each Jeter plate appearance tonight.

First plate appearance (1st inning): Infield single to third.

Second plate appearance (2nd inning): 2-run double to left-center.

Third plate appearance (3rd inning): Struck out looking.

Fourth plate appearance (5th inning): Flies out to center.

Fifth plate appearance (7th inning): Grounds out to shortstop.

Sixth plate appearance (9th inning): Grounds out to third.

Up next: The Yankees finish their series in Cleveland against right-hander Justin Masterson, before returning to Yankee Stadium for four games against the Rays to finish out the first half. Jeter is 5 for 12 against Masterson in his career.